2019 Holiday Gift Guide | What to Get the Investor on Your List
The holidays are here, which means it’s time to start checking off the items on your gift-shopping list. But what should you get the investors among your friends and family?
You’re in luck! We’ve got a complete holiday guide with both fun and practical suggestions for all the investors, traders, financial professionals and even investing newbies on your list. Why not get them a classic investing book? A DVD they’ll love? Maybe something iconic for their desk? A special coffee mug, tie or even a unique T-shirt?
Gift Shares
First off, whether your loved one already enjoys investing or you want to get them started on the path to growing their wealth, two companies are presenting unique gift card options.
Give Stock and ETF Shares
Overall Rating 6/10 Read The Review Open an Account Why It's The Best:
Stockpile is a great way to get young people interested in stock investing by purchasing fractional shares of stock through gift cards. It requires a low minimum investment and low fees. However, its limitations may turn off more sophisticated investors.
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Promotion: None Pros and Cons
Pros
Low Trading FeesFractional SharesNo MinimumNo Annual FeesCons
Very Limited Account SelectionVery Limited Investment SelectionNo Real-Time TradingU.S. Residents OnlyFor something a little more meaningful than an envelope of cash but with the convenience of a gift card, consider giving an investment in an ETF (exchange-traded fund) or an individual stock. At Stockpile, your recipients can redeem gift cards for fractional shares of household-name investments (think Apple and Starbucks). Even kids can receive the gift of a stock or ETF as long as a parent or other adult is willing to open a custodial account — you could knock a few gifts off your list!
List Price: Varies
Give Acorns
Overall Rating 8.5/10 Read The Review Open an Account Why It's The Best:
The Acorns app provides a painless way for newbies to begin saving and investing by "rounding up" their spare change and "micro-investing" the difference. However, it isn't built for long-term saving (although it is introducing a new IRA service) and charges hefty fees.
Promotion: Get a $5 Bonus When You Sign Up Pros and Cons
Pros
Painless Way to SaveHides the Complexities of InvestingStart Investing With No MoneyFree for College StudentsCons
Only for "Boosting" Your SavingsCan Lose PrincipalAcorns is one of the hottest micro-investing apps around. The program allows you to invest in small amounts. In fact, you can use Acorns to round up your change and invest it, making saving fun and easy.
Now Acorns has unveiled its own $25 gift cards, which can be found in select retailers and online. Existing Acorns users can easily redeem the value of the cards within their accounts, but if your recipient doesn’t already have an account, setting one up is a simple, free process. (There are no fees associated with the gift cards, either.)
List Price: $25
Just for Fun
Stock Ticker Necktie
Stock Ticker Necktie>>
This Josh Bach Limited stock ticker necktie makes a great addition to any Wall Street wardrobe. High quality (100% silk) with a design that’s fun yet classy enough to wear at any office function. 100% silk.
List Price: $49.99
Bull vs. Bear Market Baseball Cap
This is one of several investing-related baseball caps you can find at CafePress.com. I’ve purchased items from them in the past and always been satisfied with the high quality that’s not too pricey. This hat is eye-catching yet understated. Very classy for any investment professional when they go casual.
List Price: $18.95
“Things I Never Learned in School” Mug
Choose a mug to hold your favorite investor’s morning coffee. Pick this design, which playfully laments not investing at an earlier age, or choose from a wide variety of mugs for stock traders, bond traders, hedge fund managers and more. CafePress offers humorous quotes as well as more serious statements.
List Price: $13.99
“Life’s Great When You’re an Investor” T-Shirt
Everyone likes a T-shirt. Maybe this basic tee is a great find for the investor on your list? Choose from nine colors.
List Price: $24.99
For the Desk
French Press Coffee Maker
If there’s one thing an investor needs, it’s caffeine. Sure, you can always get a Keurig machine. But why not step it up this year with a classy coffee server they can keep on their desk? This French press coffee maker uses the classic “plunger-style brewing method.”
List Price: $40
Ticker Tape Office Scene Memo Holder
This Ticker Tape Office Memo Holder is the perfect addition to any conference room, lobby or desk. Simply hang it on the wall to feature a stock broker’s office scene complete with a graph of stock, bond and commodities performance. This piece includes a stack of memos, reading “Bless This Astute, Hardworking Stockbroker.”
List Price: $175
Dueling Bull and Bear Statue
Nothing is more iconic of the struggle on Wall Street than the ever-fighting bull and bear. The statue is bronze and sits on a decorative base that you can have engraved with a personal message or name. Quantity discounts offered when you purchase more than one.
List Price: $84.99
Marble Mobile Phone Stand
Made with solid Black Zebra Marble, this phone cradle is functional and classy. It includes a pass-through hole on the bottom for charging the phone so it’s a docking station, allowing you to charge your device while it sits. Fits most cellphones. Can be engraved for that personal touch.
List Price: $67.95
Brass and Marble Business Card Holder
Sure to get a smile when opened, this classy gift will look great on your investor’s desk. Engrave it with the name of your favorite Wall Street insider for an additional $15.
List Price: $36.95
Bull and Bear Bookends
Most smart investors are avid readers and researchers, so why not get them a unique pair of bookends? This set of bull and bear bookends features detailing with an Old World charm that makes a great addition to any office. It also makes the perfect gift set for your boss or loved one!
List Price: $79.99
Bookshelf
The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
Even though it’s a classic, this book remains relevant for any investor today. It’s been revised and updated with help from stock market and investing experts such as Jason Zweig and Warren Buffett.
The Intelligent Investor is considered one of the most important books you will ever read on how to reach your financial goals.
List Price: $22.99
Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham
The teachings of Benjamin Graham, known commonly as “the father of value investing,” are as relevant today as when they first appeared 80 years ago.
The investing tips in this book have withstood the test of time across a wide diversity of market conditions, countries and asset classes.
List Price: $82
Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin
A true-life thriller that goes behind the scenes of the financial crisis on Wall Street and in Washington.
Andrew Ross Sorkin — a New York Times columnist and one of the country’s most respected financial reporters — delivers a blow-by-blow account of the economic crisis that brought the world to the brink. Through unprecedented access to the players involved, he recreates all the drama and turmoil of these turbulent days, revealing never-before-disclosed details and recounting how, motivated as often by ego and greed as by fear and self-preservation, the most powerful men and women in finance and politics decided the fate of the world’s economy.
List Price: $20
(Editor’s Note: If you’re shopping for someone more into the screen than the page, there’s also a DVD of the HBO film available on Amazon. It has an all-star cast, including William Hurt, Billy Crudup and Paul Giamatti.)
When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein
In this business classic, Roger Lowenstein captures the roller-coaster ride of Long-Term Capital Management. When it was founded in 1993, Long-Term was hailed as the most impressive hedge fund in history. But after four years in which the firm dazzled Wall Street as a $100 billion moneymaking juggernaut, it suddenly suffered catastrophic losses that jeopardized the biggest banks on Wall Street and the stability of the financial system itself.
Drawing on confidential internal memos and interviews with dozens of key players, Lowenstein explains how the fund made and lost its money.
List Price: $18
Need some more book ideas? Check out our complete list of the best books for serious investors. And if the investor on your list is also an avid magazine reader (they should be!), here are our seven top subscription picks.
For the Cinephile
Inside Job (documentary) DVD
Claiming to be the first film to expose the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008, Inside Job focuses on the details of the global financial meltdown that resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs.
Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, this documentary traces the rise and fall of the economy through questionable relationships that have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.
List Price: $8.05
Trading Places DVD
As a wager, two brothers, both millionaires, meddle in the lives of one of their employees and a down-and-outer, reversing their positions in life. Which is more important, nature or nurture? Which man will be more successful in their new role?
The con is on as one man is plucked from the streets and the other is ungraciously dumped on them. There’s loads of fun watching one hit absolute rock bottom while the other quickly becomes spoiled and snobby himself. It’s a classic 1980s film.
List Price: $6.99
Money and Coins
Gold or Silver Coins
Depending on your budget, a gold or silver coin can be an excellent collectible that any investor (or investor in the making) will want to add to their collection.
Prices are contingent upon current market conditions, so the cost varies. Of course, buying a gold coin will cost a lot more than silver, but both are great gift ideas.
List Price: Varies
Uncirculated Coin Gift Set
Coin collecting, one of the oldest hobbies, was once practiced only by kings and the wealthy. That’s why coin collecting often is called the “king of hobbies” and the “hobby of kings.”
The 2017 United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set contains 20 coins, ten from the United States Mint at Philadelphia and the other ten from the United States Mint at Denver.
List Price: $20.95
What are some other gift ideas for investors that we can add to this list? What’s on your holiday wish list this season?
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